Iga Swiatek crashed out of the Australian Open on Sunday with a 6-4 6-4 defeat by Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on Rod Laver Arena.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina advanced to the quarter-finals of the season’s opening Grand Slam for the first time with an impressive display against the World No 1.
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“It was a really tough match and I really respect Iga,” said Rybakina, the 22nd seed.
Elena 'calm' Rybakina 😅#AusOpenpic.twitter.com/mTTdo0GOtx
— wta (@WTA) January 22, 2023
“She’s a young player and think she played really well,” she added of the 21-year-old from Poland. “It’s a big win and I’m just happy to get to another round.”
Ostapenko beats Gauff
Updating her best #AusOpen result to quarterfinalist 🙌@JelenaOstapenk8 moves past No.7 seed Gauff, 7-5, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/9IHIILmhNa
— wta (@WTA) January 22, 2023
Coco Gauff’s Australian Open ended on Sunday after the 18-year-old American prodigy was beaten in straight sets by former French Open champion Ostapenko in the fourth round.
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Ostapenko edged a tight battle 7-5, 6-3 in an 1hr 33min on Margaret Court Arena to reach the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park for the first time.
Ostapenko, whose last Grand Slam quarterfinal came at Wimbledon in 2018, has endured some tough injury-hit years since and had never before beaten a player ranked inside the top-10 at the Australian Open.
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Gauff had not dropped a set on the way to the last 16 and the match was a tight affair, with little to choose between the pair.
